In 2026, Good Night Out partnered with Grey City, the first edition of a new volunteer-run, non-profit, four-day festival platforming artists from across Europe and the UK.
We recruited a diverse group of grassroots musicians from Berlin’s independent music scene who were organising, attending and in some cases also performing at the festival. Across two 3hr training sessions, we gave participants practical skills in de-escalation, welfare support, harm reduction, drug and alcohol overdose response and supporting people experiencing difficult situations. We supported them to create a structure, shift pattern and wellbeing support system. Our aim was to build on the skills and relationships they already bring to their creative and community work, rather than bringing in an external security team.
The team then put this training into practice across the four-day festival, working alongside bands, performers, organisers and audiences as part of the Grey City x GNO safety crew, acting as visible, approachable points of support throughout the event, helping artists and audiences feel safer and responding when people needed support.
The practical safety and care skills trainees recieved they then took back into their own bands, events, venues and wider grassroots work, creating a ripple effect beyond the festival itself. Since then, at least four participants have been able to take on paid shifts doing awareness and welfare work at other events and venues in the city.
